The Bible is very contradicting in the views of slavery. We will discuss the possible arguments on why The Bible could be seen as for or against slavery. Most were not “slaves” from their birth, or for their whole life, or because of their race—for instance, the Roman jurist Gaius (second century) claimed that most slaves were prisoners of war who actually would have been slaughtered if not made slaves.

Further, slavery was generally not organized by race but by circumstance and economics (for example, foreigners, debtors, and so on). (Exodus 21:16)

Why the bible could Pro-Slavery

When discussing the Bible, people often only reflect on the joy and good it brings; they don't really think about what the Bible might have been justified for. In other words, believe it or not, the Bible has been used as a justification for why slavery was “okay” and not demeaning or discriminative. One way people have used the Bible to do so, Bishop Willam Meade claims that if one is to commit an act of misdeed and not be seized, that person is getting justice from God. He would've been the only one to see the act committed. As well as, throughout the Bible, their people have been able to notice not once does the Bible condemn slavery? This can be questionable and also can be seen as where the argument comes from. It can also be questionable that in the book of Philemon, St. Paul, who returned to his “master” and claims it is not out of the ordinary to be a “servant” or “slave” as the second reference. Most of the people who had slaves were Christians. Now, the claim has been made that saying slavery is anti-christian would also meet the remark that you're going against God if you believe this. So many were quite disputed on the topic, but there are many reasons for why the Bible could've been the justification for slavery.

Why the bible could be Anti-Slavery

One could say that the bible is greatly opposed to slavery. An example of this would be the book of Philemon. It could be surprising to most people that the book of Philemon is not brought up often in reading and discussion. The book of Philemon was one of Paul’s letters to a slave owner about Onesimus; his runaway slave. If Philemon was solely pro-slavery what would you expect the apostle Paul to say? Strikingly, Paul instructs Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave . . . but as a dear brother”—and he appeals to Philemon to “receive him as you would receive me” (v. 17). Breaking this text down the apostle Paul rejects Onesimus as a slave and constructs in its place a brother to brother relationship. The slave is treated with all dignity and fairness like a brother would. Furthermore even before the actual institutional abolishment of slavery, “the work of the gospel abolishes the assumptions and prejudices that make slavery possible.”

Whether or not you believe that the bible was pro or against slavery, it can be seen in different lights by people who all think differently. Personally, I believe it was a test to see if people were truly good at heart or were not willing to serve others as God served us today through his resurrection on the cross. In our society today, the argument will never end because truly no one eyewitnesses it that is alive today, but we can see the arguments through scripture and create about slavery from our own morals and beliefs.